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An Act To Provide Access to Affordable Naloxone Hydrochloride for First Responders
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §2353, sub-§5  is enacted to read:
 
5.  Attorney General authority; municipal naloxone hydrochloride purchases; fund.     The Attorney General may negotiate bulk purchases of, purchase or receive by gift and dispense naloxone hydrochloride and associated materials and agents for use in the prevention of opioid-related drug overdose deaths. The Office of the Attorney General shall provide and distribute naloxone hydrochloride and associated materials and agents throughout the State when necessary to protect the public health. Municipalities may purchase naloxone hydrochloride from the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to this subsection for municipal first responder agencies and law enforcement officers and firefighters as described in subsection 3.
 
A.  The Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund, referred to in this subsection as "the fund," is established as a nonlapsing fund to carry out the purposes of this subsection. The Office of the Attorney General shall administer the fund.
 
B.  The fund consists of the following:
 
(1) Payments made by participating municipalities for the purchase of naloxone hydrochloride pursuant to this subsection;
 
(2) Money appropriated or allocated by the Legislature and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; and
 
(3) Funds from public or private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants, donations, rebates and settlements received by the State that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund.
 
Funds received under subparagraphs (2) and (3) must be apportioned in a manner determined by the Office of the Attorney General and must be applied to provide price reductions for municipalities purchasing naloxone hydrochloride pursuant to this subsection.
 
C.  Amounts credited to the fund may not be appropriated or allocated except as set out in this subsection, and money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year does not lapse to the General Fund but must be carried forward and used for the purposes of this subsection.
 
D.  The Attorney General shall report annually by October 1st to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters on the fund's activity. The report must include, but not be limited to, revenue received by the fund, revenue and expenditure projections for the forthcoming fiscal year and details of all expenditures from the fund, the municipalities participating, the amount of naloxone hydrochloride purchased by each municipality and the discount procured through bulk purchasing.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund administered by the Office of the Attorney General for the purpose of providing funding to the Office of the Attorney General to make bulk purchases of naloxone hydrochloride that may be purchased by municipalities for use by first responders.